Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Bastards TVNZ has met

Murray McCully accuses TVNZ's former top brass of exhibiting "a culture of corporate contempt" towards Parliament and in doing do shows why he himself deserves every bit of contempt flung his own way. (Is there any reason this three-time loser is taken seriously except as a means to keep his partner Jane Clifton on side?)

Is there any reason why Parliament does not deserve a "culture of corporate contempt" to be directed its way by the entirety of corporate New Zealand, and not just TVNZ?

And as far as TVNZ goes, is it not true that the select committe inquiry was a "circus" as charged in emails between former TVNZ heads Ian Fraser and Craig Boyce? That TVNZ "is just a plaything for the politicians" as described? Can anyone really deny that the select committe inquiry into TVNZ "was always going to be a useless exercise,": as former CEO Ian Fraser said on the eve of his appearance, "now it's likely to be toxic as well." Wasn't he right about that?

In fact, is there any reason at all that the two former heads of TVNZ shouldn't feel utter contempt for Parliament's meddling ministrations over TVNZ's charter, and the various grandstanding MPs and spineless fools, including both the vapid McCully and the overbearingly arrogant chairman Shane Jones, before whom Ian Fraser and Craig Boyce were expected to crawl.

In one email, Mr Boyce states, with reference to the select committee, 'these bastards are our enemy.'

Blind Freddy could see that those bastards were their enemy. Only an idiot (or Murray McCully -- which is to say the same thing) could fail to see that chairman Shane Jones for one is both a bastard and an enemy of both Boyce and Fraser -- and for that matter most of corporate New Zealand. These gentlemen were clearly seen by Jones as his first leg up the parliamentary greasy pole, and as he outlined to a Radio New Zealand interviewer last night he has taken great pleasure in what he sees as consigning them both to history while vaulting himself up the pole for doing do. The man is a nasty piece of work. One to watch.

Contempt for bastards like Jones and the parliamentary process that puts any businessmen at the mercy of such low-lifes is entirely deserved. The disappointment would be if there weren't widespread contempt for belligerent scum like Jones, or if the culture of corporate contempt for Parliament was less widespread than it really should be.

As for McCully, it sometimes seems obvious why he's lost three elections as a row as a strategist, but he really has no need to make it as obvious as he does.